What do you think about Brothers 2009? : r/movies Skip to main content

Get the Reddit app

Scan this QR code to download the app now
Or check it out in the app stores
r/movies icon
r/movies icon
Go to movies
r/movies
A banner for the subreddit

The goal of /r/Movies is to provide an inclusive place for discussions and news about films with major releases. Submissions should be for the purpose of informing or initiating a discussion, not just to entertain readers. Read our extensive list of rules for more information on other types of posts like fan-art and self-promotion, or message the moderators if you have any questions.


Members Online
[deleted]

What do you think about Brothers 2009?

I liked the movie, tobey, jake and natalie were stunning as usual and the child actors were exceptionally good, especially the oldest daughter, isabelle.

i'm no expert but i found this sexual tension between tommy and grace forced, maybe if that kiss never existed, sam's delusional could be absolutely confirmed?

but maguire was so good, there were subtle pockets that gave me jitters like when grace opened the letter much later instead during her denial phase. it was like a confirmation that sam was gone. as in emotionally. and the last scene where sam is fidgeting with his ring that was supposed to be super tight! the effects of war was entirely encapsulated in that scene.

Share
Sort by:
Best
Open comment sort options

The wife is a whore the brother is a piece of dog shit the oldest daughter is a unsympathetic spoiled little cunt and the grand father is a cock sucking fuck who thinks just cause he was in nam it gives him the right to treat everyone around him like he was treated when he came home from the war even tho he prob didn’t go threw a sliver of what his son did

Lol

Lol

I second that.

More replies

fax

u/Just-Butterscotch-84 avatar

brooo😂😂😂

u/myshtummyhurt666 avatar

Ok so don’t go to Reddit for opinions about movies. Got it.

[deleted]
[deleted]

This is the most real take I've ever seen. Any dispute only shows how they never went through a fraction of this trauma. Thank you for articulating what most cannot. It drives me crazy to see those who haven't gone through trauma, act like it's so simple to solve.

u/Gxnerationsz avatar

💀

Word. Anyone that says otherwise is an idiot

u/420PusSy-S1AyeR avatar

just watched this movie like 5 mins ago couldn’t agree more 🤣

Hell yeah!

Sir, you have made my night. Thank you.

u/TheCormbac avatar

All of this is inaccurate. Watch the film.

Somebody doesn’t understand nuance

u/No_Garbage6992 avatar

Yikes

u/Cool-Cup-1306 avatar

why is the wife a whore?

[deleted]
[deleted]

I'm with you on this

More replies

Long build up for one hell of a great acting display by McGuire. Honestly just watch a youtube clip of the 2.5 minute or so scene and save yourself the time.

What was up with the dialogue? Everything gets resolved because gyllenhaal says, "you're my brother" like 10 times? Lazy writing.

and the fact that the whole breakdown and shit could have been avoided if Tommy was just able to say, “No, Sam. I did not fuck your wife.”

u/Own_Poem_4041 avatar

I think it’s possible he actually did. Rewatch the scene after the kiss. Grace tosses and turns and Tommy is just pacing then bam cuts away. We don’t know what happened after that.

Grace said herself they only kissed… instantly after the kiss grace walked outside and tommy knew it was wrong that’s why he started balling. Tommy left and then returned the next morning making it clear that it was an accident did you watch the movie?

u/SoulsGamer420 avatar

They fucked you tripping why would a child who shouldn't even know about sex say they slept together if they didn't that means she must've seen it happen

more replies More replies
More replies
More replies
u/WaitOutrageous9798 avatar

Im dead lol

More replies
More replies

One of my all time favorite movies!!! The actors all are great. I was in tears in the scene where Tobey had a break down outside the house. I felt it!! It was so real. And I’m rarely emotional with movie scenes, therefore it really has to touch my soul or something;) Also, the kid (girl) played so good!!

Grace is a bitch, Isabelle is a mega bitch. She had no right to say that shit at the table

What a dumb little cunt

u/Gigamicasus avatar

Plus she looks like she has that Waardenburg syndrome or whatever it's called. If I was Sam in the final scene I would've went back into the house, into her room and put her down, then killed Grace and Tommy and then shot myself. An ending like that would've given much more clarity.

jesus christ, who hurts you bro

Bruh you're trippin like i get it but bruh. Like he asked himself at the end of the movie, "can I live again?" that's his entire goal. He clearly has ptsd and is trying to come back to the regular world like really try to put yourself in his shoes. The ending was good and I honestly couldn't tell if he'd shoot himself, grace, or tommy. But what he ended up doing made sense for wanted to live again.

u/Ok-Revenue-4385 avatar

Right 😭 same here bro

u/El-Unicorn avatar

The gaslighting in the scenes I’ve seen help me decide not to watch the movie.

More replies
u/DonnieCuteMwone avatar

DAYUM lmaoo

More replies

Same here. If I were there, I woulda call Miles Quaritch to silence them. Or call the ninjas to time travel to stop them once and for all, or even Lord Garmadon.

More replies
u/Cbtcommander avatar

Rewatched it recently, it’s not good, I won’t even waste my time saying all my grievances but I will say that Isabella is horribly written and unsympathetic

[deleted]
[deleted]

Yes she’s pretty unsympathetic and i didn’t like that, but Jesus Christ tobys portrayal of ptsd hit home like a motherfucker as i have first hand experience. Holy shit this movie really fucked with me ☹️ I’m here just minutes after watching it and surprised so many people don’t like it.

u/Proof-Cry-4956 avatar

Maguire was the weakest link in the film. He’s just not a very good actor.

You obviously don't know what good acting is.

u/Proof-Cry-4956 avatar

No, I know great acting when I see it, scrub.

more replies More replies
More replies
u/BulmasBabyDaddy avatar

Dude you don’t know good acting when you see it and that’s lame

u/Key_Sale7413 avatar

I know what you mean honestly. He did everything right and tried as hard as he could but it just seems like something was “missing” idk. It’s felt like 95% real but there’s like a missing 5%

More replies
More replies
u/Far_Negotiation5970 avatar

I am Asian and I condemn this behavior.

More replies

I just watched this movie. I love idea but it felt rushed. The fact that Tommy and Grace weren’t actually fucking was a stupid decision to me. Not to mention the timeline was a bit confusing.. the acting was amazing though, especially the bitchy little girl

u/Own_Poem_4041 avatar

I think maybe they were, and it’s trying to put the audience in Sam’s shoes of not really knowing for sure.

They only kissed and that’s it…

u/No_Garbage6992 avatar

no they did not and you can look at any source to confirm they kissed but did not take it further

u/Own_Poem_4041 avatar

We don’t know that it didn’t happen off screen

More replies
More replies
u/Korimito avatar

the timeline? this was an entirely chronological movie. hope you grew a few brain cells in the past two years.

More replies

TLDR I'm glad this movie is still getting talked about, I have a lot to say. There's not a lot today that can do what this accomplished. I feel it was well done and was able to illustrate the emotions that people in these situations can go through.

You can see fully the issues Tobie's character had after coming back; The paranoia he had around his brother. His family not knowing what he experienced. The confusion of why everyone around him was so much happier than he was. The isolation that all caused. It all built on itself in a cycle until the rage moment. And then at the end, when he finally admitted the truth. It was all illustrated so well.

Outside of Tobie, the dynamics of the family are absolutely justified. I don't like ranking kids on acting, but Natalie's struggle to cling to anything was real I think. When Jakes calls his dad out for why they became who they are and then, when the dad finally tried to rectify by opening up to Tobie. Yes it was awkward and he could have done more to be a father at that moment, but it's understandable if he never did talk to anyone himself about his own struggles.

Jakes character in the scene when he said nothing when asked if Nat and him had sex. He knew they didn't, but the guilt from the kiss drew a blurred line in that fact, and sensing his brother was interrogating him, it was unhinged and unstable. So he said nothing. It makes sense.

I just watched this for the first time. It hit home in a lot of ways. Not directly, I was never deployed but I come from a long line of military and generational trauma. Feeling diseased in a room of people. Brain going a million miles a minute. Analysing everything. And then buckling the opposite; don't talk don't feel don't think. Saying I'm fine when I'm falling apart. Avoiding responsibilities. Just shutting down. It's death.

It's interesting that I've never seen this movie until now, but if it was at any other time I wouldn't have felt so impacted by it. Life is weird. Denial's a bitch.

I'm sure there are problems with this movie, but I took what I needed from it for myself and that's enough for me to say that this movie is incredible.

Finally, some goddamn sense in this thread.

Jakes character in the scene when he said nothing when asked if Nat and him had sex. He knew they didn't, but the guilt from the kiss drew a blurred line in that fact, and sensing his brother was interrogating him, it was unhinged and unstable. So he said nothing. It makes sense.

It's crazy to me that no one picked up on this. What's even crazier is people blaming and hating Natalie Portman's character more than Jake's character. Did people forget that HE kissed her yet SHE stepped away AND told the truth? The movie does have it's flaws but I think most people should at least understand there's no real villain in this movie. Maybe Jake's character because honestly he goes from bad guy to good guy to somewhat bad guy, but the point of the movie is that they're all victims because of war.

u/YoinksOnchi avatar

Standard reddit misogyny, I keep forgetting that and getting jumpscared by all the numbhead takes regarding any female characters

Yep. I honestly didn't expect these many bad takes on this subreddit, of all places. At least not in a 2-years-old post. I mean, look at the top-rated comment FFS. Gross.

u/Raspint avatar

Yeah man, the people on this post are fucking unhinged.

u/YoinksOnchi avatar

Yup, you get to see how low media literacy is in the general population. That's also why celebrity reality tv shows are so popular, no need for complicated plots, celeb X looked at celeb Y the wrong way and there you have the story arc for the next few episodes

more replies More replies
More replies
More replies
More replies
More replies

Let's be honest, you don't have to be a Vietnam War survivor to react to a similar way as Tobey when your daughter tells you that she doesn't likes you anymore, your wife and your brother is fucking, and that you should just disappear from their life. Also Tobey's acting aside everything else about the movie is below average.

The whole point was they weren't fucking though. If you watch the entire movie, there was not a single scene or hint anything happened between them besides the one kiss.

u/Raspint avatar

This guy said that all the other actors were below average, I don't think his opinions really matter that much.

A guy who cannot read and understand what a comment is about doesn't deserve to judge others either. If you open this comment section again you can check my reply to the guy above what my comment was about. Also just because a person doesn't like a movie as much as others like doesn't mean their opinion/judgement is invalid. You can have films that you don't like, doesn't mean the film is trash or that your opinion is bullshit, it maybe because that guy criticizing the film has different tastes or was expecting a bit more from it or it wasn't as engaging enough for him/her. For me personally I wasn't amused by this film but Tobey's presence and emotions he let out were the focal point of the movie for which I think he passed hence my last statement on my first comment.

u/Raspint avatar

You said that Tobey's performance was the only one that was any good. That is a bad take.

Gyllenhall, Portman, and that child actress all gave stellar performances. In fact the latter is probably one of the better child actors I've seen in movies.

I don't care if you don't like the movie. The implication that Toby's was the only good acting job is flat wrong.

More replies
More replies

It's not about what happened in reality but what was going through his mind. In a situation where he is suffering from war trauma, his daughter's behaviour towards him, closeness between his wife and brother... he just assumed the worst which resulted in the outburst of emotions. So the part that you mentioned I said was related to what Tobey was thinking in his mind. Anyway my comment wasn't related to that but that any father/husband would have reacted similarly and may have assumed the worst even if they weren't dealing with some kind of past trauma.

More replies
More replies

Really got me there.. I'm still wondering what happens after the movie ends.. Does everything work out? or They get separated? What are your thoughts?

[deleted]
[deleted]

i rlly think that things never got went back to normal and natalie portman just continues to be a support system for sam.

Okay, now I'm heartbroken.. Could you please say what I want to hear?

[deleted]
[deleted]

i wish i could ;_;

I feel, after that he told her about him killing his fellow.. She understood why he was in pain.. Took a few days but eventually because Sam vented out whatever he had in his heart, things started to get back to normal. He apologized Isabelle for whatever shit he did and eventually got closer to his daughters..

As his dad used to praise him alot, one day he opened up to his dad also.. At first he was a bit upset of whatever he did, but he eventually forgave him.. (You must've noticed the pain he got when people asked him why he sent him in the Marines..)

more replies More replies
More replies
More replies
More replies
More replies
u/Old_Active_1808 avatar

Lol. This movie is dogshit.

u/glockGotaDick avatar

Glad someone gets it, shit movie

More replies

I mean its just too sad for tobbys character. I do feel that even in sorrow of loss, grace is a bitch. She could have kissed anyone but she did it to his bro in law. I mean why

Yup so true. And you know that Tommy would have kept going had she not stopped.

More replies

You should watch the danish original which I thought was better. It’s called “Brødre” from 2004.

u/FanOpening9450 avatar

It's more messed up movie even the dinner scene In brodre doesn't suit the plot well and even after the police arrested them and women showing showering and he goes upside for some action(I know he didn't do anything ) atleast In 2009 such scene doesnt exist,

More replies

I really hated Isabelle to be honest I felt like even before Sam went to Afghan she was silent and ignored him and when she was being rude at the table Because she wanted Tommy to be her dad.And I believe that was the role she was set for ,to upset the audience and to build tension so I think the actress did an amazing job

I just didn't understand her big outburst at the table. Her father didn't even really do anything bad to her besides missing her birthday (which obviously wasn't his fault) man, I hated her so much. And the really fucked up part about it is, if your child said that in real life, you would never know 100% for sure whether they had sex or not. Like I thought about it. Young kids don't normally lie about that subject. So yeah, that was the worst thing she could have said...

u/El-Unicorn avatar

THIS. A normal kid would never do this.

More replies
u/Own_Poem_4041 avatar

I agree

More replies

Sam was the only one understandable for his actions. Everyone else in this movie sucks ass.

[deleted]
[deleted]

Isabelle made me really mad but shes great in this movie

[deleted]
[deleted]

Comment removed by moderator

What did she get away with?

u/YoinksOnchi avatar

Answer the question, what did she get away with?

u/No_Garbage6992 avatar

what exactly did she get away with we are all waiting

Venom: Hey, that's my line!

More replies
u/Own_Poem_4041 avatar

I think it’s likely more than just a kiss happened. This would explain why Tommy and Grace were not more upfront that it wasn’t true. As for the confusion as to what happened, this could be the writers trying to put us in Sam’s shoes of not really knowing what happened one way or the other.

This would explain why Tommy and Grace were not more upfront that it wasn’t true.

I don't think it's even a question about whether they did. I can easily explain this. They weren't more upfront because they both felt guilty about the kiss. They didn't have sex..

More replies

Honestly don’t know how to feel abt tommy I mean 100% Fucked up for kissing grace but aside from that I can’t say he did a lot wrong I mean his brother was dead so he stepped up as a father to the kids I absolutely fucking hate the fact him and grace kissed and it’s obvious they have feeling for one another but aside from how monumentally fucked up that is he seems like a pretty good guy

I think the whole movie would be a lot better if Sam did pull the trigger at the end after saying "I'm drowning".

Just imagine , someone came back from war , looks like having ptsd , meanwhile his wife keeping secret from him and claims to be clean , his brother act suspicious and hypocritical, his daughter tell him to die , his father call the coops while he break down.

i mean , what else do u want? Everything's going fine without him , his life would be a lot easier if he's the one been killed. so why not just make the story easier from there , for him and also for others.

Thought it might seems to be a little bit tragedy when he pull the trigger , the part where those still alive suffer for the rest of their life would be a fxxking comedy.

“Their morals, their code; it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be."

u/Own_Poem_4041 avatar

Would also be a more accurate look at what our veterans go through. Suicide and all.

[deleted]
[deleted]

I think he was more likely in the sense 'drowning' in the sounds of his captures shouting and screaming at him to kill the other soldier which put him back in that place, its clear to see he was having an episode which could have been due to his false realisation combined with the balloon scraping and his brother showing up and feeling betrayed because he thinks he called the police. This is why i think it makes more sense that he didnt kill himself as he already stated that he believes he is lucky to even be alive still and could either be starting to believe the truth that they never slept together, or it could be that he was feeling empathetic for what he did to joe and doesnt want to put his sacrifice to absolute shame, i find both to probably be why he didnt pull the trigger as we see him reconciling with his wife, but also know him as a character to be prideful and nationalistic therefor showing that he likely didnt want to waste joe's sacrifice, especially for something that he doesnt 100% know to be true.

More replies
u/Icy-Beginning-6227 avatar

Only movie that's ever made me cry. It portrays my own battles so I can see them from the outside in.

[deleted]
[deleted]

It wasn't good then and it's even worse now. It could have been great but there's some serious issues here with the writing, score, direction, tone, pace, editing. The creative direction in general just wasn't there.

u/AokiMax avatar

So I'm late to the thread...

This movie feels rushed, no true emotions nor sympathy felt for any character...just bad. Overall.

Zero hamsters out of 5.

u/yungthug1234 avatar

I'm even more late and I agree, halfway through the movie I clicked to see how much time was left and was shocked because I knew that wouldn't be enough time to flesh out the characters more so you can feel something for them, but I was hoping I'd be wrong... I wasn't

More replies
u/imjusttheil avatar

Just watched it, it's not the worst thing that i've ever seen, but the fact that they don't commit to difficult script decisions and instead just give halfassed solutions to the problems they create kinda angers me. Why do they build that sexual tension leading to the kiss scene where the wife 'rejects' the brother and that doesn't turn into a 'conflict' or discomfort between they? Why not end the movie with Tobey's suicide? lol

Would’ve been a helluva movie if it had ended in same killing himself in front of everyone. Damn

More replies
[deleted]
[deleted]

I know this is 2y old but- I couldn’t get past the fact that the military just ASSUMED death and literally told the family he’s dead without confirmation. they had a whole funeral for him and everything. This is not something the military would do, US military deaths get confirmed before they go telling the family. Or atleast they would say “he’s missing” “or he’s been possibly kidnapped”.. they wouldn’t go straight to saying he’s dead without confirmation. if they rolled up on the helicopter crash sight there would be evidence of not all the bodies being there.

This was bothering the hell outta me during the movie lol.